Country ready to ship samples of deadly virus from Africa, says WHO

The World Health Organization says China is ready to start transporting specimens of the deadly Ebola virus from West Africa to the new P4 laboratory in Wuhan.

However, special rules and procedures must be followed to ensure the operation is carried out safely.

Bernhard Schwartlander, the WHO's representative in China, said International Air Transport Association rules and regulations for packaging and transportation by plane must be adhered to when shipping Ebola samples for research purposes.

Both the source and recipient countries have to provide the necessary documents, such as import and export permits.

In addition, ethical clearances and consent may also be required to conduct research on the specimens, and other rules and regulations in both the country of origin and China must be followed.

Schwartlander welcomed the fact that China now has a top-rated laboratory, given the very high levels of expertise of the country's researchers.

"The opening of the first P4 laboratory will expand the scope of pathogens that can be researched in China and allow for laboratory testing and detection of such pathogens," he said. "This will help to expand China's response capacity for possible outbreaks, and improve public health provision."

Vice-Premier Liu Yandong said in a congratulatory letter read out at Saturday's inauguration ceremony that the opening of the lab was of great significance, particularly as it comes during the global battle to contain the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

"That will help China's and the global response to serious viral outbreaks and world biological security and public health," she said.

Gao Fu, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing, revealed that his organization is planning to build another P4 lab.

"One is far from enough for the nation," he said.

"China, as a vast country with a huge population, has always faced, and will continue to face, pathogen risks."

Li Bin, the minister in charge of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, stressed the importance of strong management and supervision of lab security and biosafety.

This is a lesson that China has learned before.

Construction of science facilities with high biosafety ratings, such as the Wuhan lab, was first discussed by the Chinese authorities after the deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003.

However, an accidental leakage of the SARS coronavirus from a lab in 2004 hindered the planning and development of such facilities, according to some experts.

Two researchers working with the virus at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention became infected.

Five top officials at the center, including director Li Liming, were held accountable for the accident and resigned from their posts.

As a result, many scientific institutions were reluctant to press ahead with the construction of P4 facilities to avoid the potential risks, an expert who wished to remain anonymous said.

In addition, at the time of the accident the country lacked regulations and guidelines for the construction and management of such facilities, said Yuan Zhiming, director of the Wuhan lab.

China issued official guidelines on lab biosafety in 2008, stipulating that the construction and operation of high-level facilities must be approved by the health authorities and meet official requirements.